Johanna S. Hardin has been named the Hardison Chair of Analytical Thinking at Pomona College by vote of the College’s Board of Trustees on May 16. She earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics at Pomona in 1995 and joined the College in 2002 as an assistant professor of mathematics and statistics.
Hardin holds a doctoral degree in statistics from UC Davis. After completing her degree, she was a lecturer at Seattle University and a staff scientist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center before coming back to teach at Pomona.
In nominating Hardin for Pomona’s highest faculty honor, the Wig Distinguished Professor Award, which she has won twice, a student described her as “out of class, in class—a star.” Another student, also nominating her for the award, wrote: “Prof. Hardin embodies the Pomona spirit in every possible way. She is an outstanding teacher and a wonderful mentor. She truly cares about students and does everything she can to make their Pomona experience a good one.”
“Jo Hardin has been an inspiration to students inside and outside of the classroom,” says Y. Melanie Wu, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the College. “She has been instrumental in the establishment of the Data Science Minor, an interdisciplinary field that helps our students learn how to use data to understand the world around them and how to use data to express themselves and impact the world.”
A prolific researcher, Hardin has been elected as a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and has won its Waller Education Award. She is also an elected member of the International Statistics Institute.